# 159
159. Perhaps It Was All For This Moment (12)
I heard about what had happened through Ethan.
'The first time I felt something was off was when I heard the person who gave the decisive testimony at the trial had died.'
He was an old man who had worked as a gardener for the Christopher family for a long time. He was also the witness who played a decisive role in arresting James. The old man had died. It was sudden death. Though he wasn't exactly in his prime, the news gave me an ominous feeling.
'So I called in the person who had been secretly watching James, but he said he didn't notice anything suspicious. Since James had been quietly staying put after the news of his death was made public, I let my guard down for a moment. Not long after, the watcher ended up dead and James had disappeared.'
Ethan immediately worried about Vincent's safety. He thought that if James harbored murderous intent, his target would be Vincent, who had been the first to thwart him. Perhaps that was an accurate assessment. He immediately made time to visit the Velunita mansion, and by coincidence, reunited with me there.
'It's strange, isn't it? I was happy to meet Paula, but at the same time, I felt it was ominous.'
It was like the calm before a storm, as if actors necessary for a stage play were gathering—meeting people from long-standing connections. Because of that, I couldn't leave right away. Ethan stayed at the forest mansion for recuperation while simultaneously keeping watch for any suspicious signs around Vincent, but nothing happened. He held out like that until he tracked down James's whereabouts and hastily departed.
And then the first murder occurred.
'James's last known location wasn't far from the Velunita mansion. I realized he had gone to meet Vincent.'
Only then did Ethan inform Vincent that James was alive. He said he had actually tried to tell him before but couldn't muster the courage. Vincent was surprised, but perhaps because he hadn't been completely unprepared, he calmly informed him that a murder had occurred at the mansion.
He focused on an outsider as the culprit. It was strange that someone had suddenly died in the middle of the night. If it were an inside job, there would be no need for it to happen in the middle of the night. If someone had come from outside, the identity of the culprit could be deduced from the circumstances so far.
Did James enter this mansion? The guess turned into conviction when they heard a villager's account of having seen a man who, despite his shabby appearance, sounded refined when he spoke. Vincent went to meet the other party first, and Ethan, along with Joely, followed Vincent later. And they became certain that the person who committed the murder was James.
Vincent, who had returned straight to the mansion out of worry for me, happened to see a woman running out of the forest. It was Alicia. Feeling a moment of foreboding, Vincent entered the forest and found me, who had rolled down the cliff.
'I'm really glad I wasn't too late.'
James was even carrying a gun. He had killed three people here. Just as I had suspected, the people who had witnessed him moving around in the middle of the night were murdered. Since a gun would make noise, he chose to kill by stabbing with something sharp. Leaving the bodies as they were was easily guessed as a warning directed at Vincent. And if Vincent had been any later, I would probably have been caught by James and ultimately killed.
But surviving didn't mean I was in good condition. I had a fever from the bruises sustained from the fall and the gunshot wound, and was bedridden for days. While I was unconscious and struggling, Joely, Ethan, and Audrey took turns coming to check on me. When I barely opened my eyes, it was Ethan's turn to stay by my side.
Ethan told me the news that it was fortunate the gunshot had hit my shoulder. However, I said I wanted to go to my room, not knowing what to do with the overwhelming generosity of having an entire guest room to myself. But Ethan didn't back down.
'Rest comfortably until you recover.'
And so I received this overgenerous protection.
I lay in bed, unable to move. Unlike when I first woke up, my body had recovered somewhat, but the pain in my shoulder was still severe. The doctor came to check on my condition, changed my bandages, and gave me medicine. Taking it and repeatedly falling asleep and waking up, time would quickly pass by.
Blinking my heavy eyelids from the effects of the medicine, I turned my head and saw Ethan. He was sitting in a chair, leisurely reading a book.
Whether as an apology for what had happened because of him, he came to see me whenever he had time. Even though he must have been busy, whenever I opened my eyes, Ethan was usually by my side. After shedding tears when talking about Lucas's dream, he now had a composed face as if nothing had happened. We didn't mention Lucas after that, but I felt it was already enough.
"Lord Ethan, I'm thinking of staying here."
I said, barely holding onto my drowsy mind. Ethan lowered the book he was holding and looked at me. It wasn't a reproachful face.
"Did you tell Vincent too?"
Thinking about it carefully, I don't think I had said such a thing to Vincent. Though I had told him I wouldn't run away without saying anything.
"I said something similar... but not exactly yet."
"What do you mean, something similar?"
Ethan laughed briefly.
"May I stay here?"
May I intrude on your story? May I stay by Vincent's side? Swallowing countless questions, I barely managed to utter a single phrase. But quick-witted Ethan immediately understood the meaning of my words. He laughed again.
"If that's what Paula wants."
His affectionate face looked just like Lucas's.
I closed my eyes. When I opened them again, it was midday. After a deep sleep, my mind was clear. I was blinking up at the ceiling when a maid entered the room. She checked my complexion, then took the washbasin beside the bed and brought fresh water. Then, after wetting a new towel, she wiped my face.
"Um, I have something I'm curious about."
"Please go ahead."
"What happened to the woman who came with me?"
Ethan hadn't told me what happened to Alicia. But he must have figured out how the confined Alicia had managed to escape. Anyone who heard that story would naturally question my sudden appearance.
Their not making an issue of it wasn't out of consideration. Ultimately, because they found James and I had blocked the moment when Vincent was in danger instead. I knew full well that as payment, they had turned a blind eye to my wrongdoing. If that hadn't happened, I might not be lying in this overly generous bed but being punished on the cold floor.
I was curious about what happened to Alicia, who had fled alone in the forest.
"Oh, you mean that person's younger sibling? They say she was caught while trying to escape and was confined again. She managed to escape from the room she was locked in, but for some reason, she came back to the mansion and was caught. Come to think of it, they say there was a fellow servant who let the murder culprit in and out of this place. That person was also caught a few days ago..."
I realized that person was Johnny. Right, he was caught. I had thought there was a high chance he would be caught since James had died. The maid shivered, saying she was scared and wondering who she could trust. I nodded and went back to staring at the ceiling. When I closed my eyes like that and opened them again, Violet was sitting beside me.
"Paula. Are you awake?"
"...Yes. When did you arrive?"
"Not long ago."
Violet smiled kindly and examined my complexion. It was a gaze I'd felt often lately. I felt awkward. Her complexion looked worse than mine. She too must have heard about the current situation.
Her face had become thinner in the short time since I last saw her.
"You must have been very surprised. I'm sorry you had to go through such a difficult ordeal."
"No, it's fine."
"Don't hate Ethan too much. It's just because he's weak."
I laughed lightly at the playful remark. But soon worry filled Violet's face as she laughed along. Violet turned her head. Bitterness seeped from her profile as she gazed out the window.
"No one was like that before, so why do people change so much? Sometimes it makes me really sad."
Her bitter smile looked as sad as she said. It seemed like she was saying that time was cruel, turning even good people bad and kind people heartless.
"Paula, I heard you decided to stay at this mansion."
Violet changed the subject. She must have heard from Ethan about my decision to stay. Actually, I wanted to tell Vincent too, but he hadn't shown his face since the last time I saw him before I collapsed.
I hesitated to answer. It didn't seem like something I should say to her, who was once Vincent's fiancée. When I didn't speak, Violet looked back at me. I gave a barely perceptible nod.
"Do you happen to love Vincent?"
"That's..."
I hesitated. Violet smiled as if she understood.
"I loved my husband very much."
Her words resonated gently.
"Even though I entered a marriage I didn't want, and he wasn't someone I loved, he was considerate enough, kind, and showed me his heart without reservation. And before I knew it, I came to love him too. It wasn't a passionately burning love. It was a small emotion that bloomed from respecting and being considerate of each other."
She said it was a short love. By the time she realized her feelings, not long after, her husband passed away in an accident. By the time she regretted it, it was already too late. That was why she had tried so desperately to live. She said receiving what her husband left behind was because of that.
"I know what you're being considerate about. Our relationship was quite awkward, wasn't it?"
"I'm sorry."
"Haha, it's not for you to apologize. How can I stop two people who like each other?"
We like each other? When I made a puzzled face, Violet laughed brightly.
"Was it five years ago? Vincent, whom I had barely reunited with, only smiled and grumbled at Paula. After the Count and Countess of Velunita passed away when he was young, Vincent changed. He no longer showed such expressions, but he showed them to Paula."
That's because I served him, because he could treat an underling however he wanted? Because he had shown a nasty temper before meeting Violet.
"At the time, I thought he must feel comfortable with you, but as a woman, I couldn't help but feel anxious."
"Surely not."
"Why, I'm serious. He acted all proper in front of me. I mean, I tried to make a good impression too, but..."
Violet scrunched up her face and waved her hands, saying to forget what she just said. Apparently it was an embarrassing memory.
"Anyway, after that, as you know, you left like that, and I was busy too, and when I finally heard news after a long time, they said he was looking for someone. I had a feeling then."
She clapped her hands once and laughed as if to say she was right after all. It actually wasn't a funny matter, but she was speaking lightly.
"Vincent probably didn't know? Because he's dense."
Violet grumbled that he was dense, a coward, and too prickly. I laughed softly.
"Paula, what I want to say is that the past is over now. Because I am happy now."
"Lady Violet."
"I don't regret loving my husband."
Violet's purple eyes sparkled as she said that. Just like that time five years ago when she had asked me to support her love. She was still a beautiful, pretty, and dazzling person.
"I hope Paula also makes the choice that makes her happy."